Criminal Justice News

Monday, September 24, 2012

Justice Department Intervenes to Protect Prisoners from Life-Threatening Conditions at Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans

Parties
Close to Settlement to Conclude Investigation and Begin Process of Jail Reform
Overseen by a Federal Court

The Justice Department announced today
that it has moved to intervene in a class action lawsuit regarding conditions
of confinement at the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP), a pre-trial and correctional
facility in New Orleans.The litigation
seeks to address conditions that violate the U.S. Constitution and Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.The
department seeks remedies to correct inadequate medical, mental health care and
suicide prevention practices; failures to protect prisoners from physical and
sexual violence; deficiencies in environmental health and safety; and
inadequate language access services for Latino prisoners with limited English
proficiency (LEP).

The United States seeks to join as
plaintiff-intervenors in Jones v. Gusman, class action litigation that the
Southern Poverty Law Center has brought on behalf of the men, women and youth
confined to OPP, to protect them from abusive and unconstitutional conditions
of confinement.Both Sheriff Marlin
Gusman, who oversees OPP, and the plaintiffs to the class action support the
United States’ motion to intervene, to achieve a single, comprehensive
resolution of the class action and the United States’ investigation of
OPP.The department’s investigation,
initiated in February 2008, was brought under the Civil Rights of
Institutionalized Persons Act and language issues under Title VI.

“The Justice Department has longstanding,
serious concerns about the conditions at the Orleans Parish Prison. The
constitutional violations we found affect the health and safety of prisoners,
corrections officers and the community,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant
Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.“Transforming the operation of the prison is
a key component of the overall reform of the criminal justice system in New
Orleans. Although we have moved to intervene in the pending litigation, we are
hopeful that we can reach a negotiated resolution of this case in the near
future, and put in place a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable reform.We will continue to work in an expeditious
fashion with the sheriff, the city of New Orleans and the private plaintiffs on
this important case.”

“The government’s intervention in this case
will facilitate much needed reforms at OPP in the fastest and most efficient
manner,” said James Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
Louisiana.“The men, women and youth at
OPP will benefit greatly from the comprehensive reform sought in this important
intervention.”

The department issued findings in October 2009
and April 2012.Throughout that time,
the department was engaged in discussions with the Sheriff to develop a set of
comprehensible and sustainable reforms.Necessary reforms will require improved policies, procedures, staff
training and supervision to ensure that OPP protects prisoners from violence
and sexual assault by staff and other prisoners; provides adequate mental
health and medical care, including suicide prevention; provides language
services to LEP prisoners; and provides adequate fire and environmental safety.

The department has been working for some time
with the OPP and community stakeholders on this negotiated settlement and is
confident that it will serve as a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable
reform.The department’s work with both
OPP and the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) reflects its continuing
commitment to reforming the criminal justice system in New Orleans and across
the country.

Additional information about the Special
Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can be
found at www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/index.html .